Traditional flashlights usually include a housing that comprises a generally cylindrical casing having a hollow interior into which batteries are received. In order to provide strength to the flashlight and protect the batteries, the casing is normally made from a hard, rigid plastic or metal material. Battery contacts and wiring are disposed within the interior of the hard plastic or metal casing.
One end of the casing is typically closed, and the other end of the casing is open. The open end of the casing often includes a threaded end surface for threadedly receiving a light assembly that when joined to the casing forms a part of the overall flashlight housing. The light assembly includes an axially facing, radially extending lens cover, that covers over a highly reflective parabolic or conical dish. A light bulb that may be either an incandescent or an LED bulb is placed at the base of the dish to project light outwardly through the lens cover.
A switch member is usually mounted on the outwardly facing, cylindrical side surface of the flashlight. Typically, either a push button-type switch or a slide switch is employed to enable the user to turn the light on and off. Examples of such flashlights are shown in Shiu, U.S. Pat. No. D524,972; Lynch, U.S. Pat. No. D425,231; and Leopoldi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,495.
Flashlights of this type have been produced in many sizes and shapes and have been used for many years, and are still in widespread use. Although such flashlights are often large and cumbersome, they have significant utility because the size of the interior of the rigid casing can be made large enough to hold a plurality (e.g. 1-5) of large batteries, such as C or D cells, to provide the flashlight with sufficient candle power (or lumens) to cast a bright light on the surrounding areas, and sufficient power reserves to produce light for relatively long periods of time. Because of this large battery capacity, flashlights of this type are often used in work and safety-related applications and are often carried by police officers, firemen, guards and other security and safety personnel.
Additionally, the Applicants have been inventors in the field of flashlights and other lighted devices. See, Killion, U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,991; Killion et al., U.S. Pat. No. D636,509; Killion et al., U.S. Pat. No. D636,510; and Killion, Published Patent Application No. 2010/0110670 A1.
Although the rigid casing of the flashlights described above are usually cylindrical, advances in battery and light bulb technology have permitted designers to expand beyond the confinement of typically employed cylindrical shapes. For example, a large number of “flat casing” flashlights exist that employ more compact batteries and advanced technology bulbs such as LED bulbs. See, e.g. Lee, U.S. Pat. No. D549,862.
One significant technological development that has benefited flashlights relates to the use of LED lights. As LED lights consume significantly less electrical power than incandescent lights, manufacturers have been able to produce flashlights that are smaller and less expensive. Size can be reduced because smaller cylindrical batteries and coin-shaped and sized batteries can be used to power the flashlight in place of the larger C and D cell batteries typically used to power flashlights having incandescent lights.
The combination of LED lights and better battery technology has given flashlight manufacturers the ability to construct flashlights that are smaller and less expensive than previously known flashlights. These technological advances have allowed manufacturers to build flashlights that are inexpensive enough to both be disposable and to serve as value-priced promotional product items. Flashlights have now become disposable as a practical/economic matter, as they are inexpensive enough so that manufacturers often do not provide a vehicle to enable the user to change the battery in the flashlight, assuming that the user will throw it away when the batteries expire.
The inexpensive cost at which these flashlights can be produced has also caused flashlights to become increasingly popular promotional product items. A promotional product item is an item that is typically manufactured by a first company (Company A), and is purchased by a second company (Company B) who places their (Company B) logo or other visual indicia on to the particular product. Other examples of promotional product like items are collateral merchandise and affinity products. The common thread between these products that they include an indicia of some sort that is printed onto or attached as a sticker, such as a decal to the product. For example, the indicia can take the form of an aesthetic-based indicia such as an attractive design such as a picture of a monument, landscape or animal; or of a “collateral merchandise” type indicia such as a picture or logo of a race car, sports figure, sports team, theme park, cartoon character, celebrity or super hero. Additionally, the indicia can be an image that relates to an affinity group such as a fraternity, club, school, team or organization.
In addition to promotional products, the ability to place an indicia on a product, such as a flashlight is prized by other types of users. For example, collateral products merchandisers such as theme parks (e.g. Walt Disney), movie studios, sports teams, racing teams, schools, universities and the like derive a substantial amount of income from selling products that have visual indicia on them, such as cartoon or movie characters, or team and school logos, pictures of race cars, pictures of drivers and the like on the product.
For the sake of brevity herein, products such as promotional products and collateral merchandise products and affinity that are designed to incorporate some sort of visual indicia, such as an advertising indicia, logo, artwork, team logo or the like, will be referred to collectively as “Promotional Products”, it being understood that the term is broad enough to encompass a wide variety of uses including collateral merchandise products.
There are several features that are considered highly desirable in a promotional product. One is that the device be useful and desirable by the end user. As the purpose of a promotional product is to remind the user of the promoting company's existence, the promoting company's ability to remind the user will be significantly enhanced if the product is used often and desired by the user. In contrast, a promotional product of limited use, such as mustache wax, would probably be thrown away by the recipient, thus rendering it unable to remind the consumer of the advertised product or company.
A second desirable feature of a promotional product is that it be manufacturable at a relatively low cost. As many promotional products are sold to the promoting company, but then given by the promoting company to the end customer, it follows naturally that a less expensive product enables the company to stretch its advertising budget further and reach more potential consumers than a relatively more expensive product. Although some promotional products can be quite expensive, and are highly desired for companies to give to especially deserving employees and customers, the larger number of promotional products tend to be less expensive. Additionally, promotional products that are sold (such as those containing pictures of cartoon characters and sport team logos) are preferably kept at a low enough price so that the ultimate customer does not mind purchasing them as an “impulse item”.
A third desirable feature is that the promotional product have a configuration that permits a visual indicia, such as a logo, contact information, a message or character to be placed on the product so that it is easily seen.
Currently, a large number of flashlights exist that perform their intended function well and make wonderful promotional products. Some of these promotional products can be seen at The Killion Corporation's BENTCIL catalog and website at www.bentcil.com.
Notwithstanding the existence of these well-performing devices, room for improvement exists. In particular, room for improvement exists in providing a flashlight that provides not only illumination in front of the case in a manner similar to most flashlights, but also provides illumination for a message area so that a visual indicia placed on the flashlight is highlighted and made more prominent, and thereby helps to better illuminate the logo or visual indicia and thereby serve as a better advertising or promotional vehicle.
One object of the present invention is to provide such a device.